20th Nyingchi peach blossom festival kicks off with tourists pouring into Xizang

Tourists enjoy the pink sea of peach blossoms in Galai village, Nyingchi prefecture of SW China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on March 26, 2023 Photo: Shan Jie/GT

The 20th Peach Blossom Tourism and Culture Festival in Nyingchi city, Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, opened in Gongbuyuan township, Bayi district on Tuesday.

Despite the rain and snow that fell in the morning, the peach blossoms and snowflakes complemented each other. Splendid performances highlighted the opening ceremony, energizing enthusiastic audiences who gave rousing rounds of applause.

This was the scene at this year's Nyingchi Peach Blossom Festival opening ceremony.

According to the Nyingchi Tourism Development Bureau, since the blooming of peach blossoms varies depending on differences in altitude, terrain, and climate in different parts of Nyingchi, each county will therefore hold its own peach blossom festival during the peak blooming period to showcase the most beautiful peach blossom scenery.

The earliest blooming peach blossoms in Nyingchi can be found in Zayu county, followed by Bomi county, Nangxian county, Bayi district, Gongbo'gyamda county, Mainling county, and Medog county, the Global Times learned from the Nyingchi's publicity department.

The Peach Blossom Festival in Medog, for instance, will take place from April 8 to April 13, when the "Mysterious Medog" opening art performance will be held. Tourists could visit snow mountains, waterfalls, forests, and remote counties during the festival.

Tourists enjoy the pink sea of peach blossoms in Galai village, Nyingchi prefecture of SW China’s Xizang Autonomous Region on March 26, 2023 Photo: Shan Jie/GT

In recent days, tourists have poured into Nyingchi to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Galai village's peach blossom garden, Bayi district, has seen large tourist crowds in the two days before the opening ceremony of the festival. The tourists fully enjoyed the scenery by participating in traditional Tibetan costumes, taking selfies, singing karaoke, and indulging in local snacks.

Li Yonghang, a tourist from Nanning, South China Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, traveled all the way along the National Highway 318 (G318) from Sichuan Province to Xizang.

"I stopped by at Nyingchi to enjoy the peach blossom," said Li, holding a cup of coffee she bought at the garden and while enjoying the bright sunshine, told the Global Times, "It is a spring picture you should not miss in Xizang."

The Galai village used to be the opening ceremony of the festival venue for many years, as it has a vast number of peach trees, mostly wild, across its mountainous terrain. Some of its peach trees are hundreds of years old.

The peach trees also helped create a better life for villagers. Dawa Gyaltsen, a Galai villager, told the Global Times that his family of six receives more than 100,000 yuan ($14,000) from tourism cooperative dividends accrued by the village.

Nyingchi is about 400 km away from Lhasa, the capital of Xizang. Translated from Tibetan, it means "the throne of the sun." It is about 3,100 meters above sea level.

That may sound high, but Nyingchi is one of Xizang's lowest altitude areas. An upside of this is that visitors rarely suffer altitude sickness, so it is a great entry point for those looking to explore Xizang.